Woman Gets ‘Pregnant’ 5 Times in 10 Months

Bareilly: An audit of beneficiaries of the Janani Suraksha Yojna in Uttar Pradesh, which primarily guarantees through a small dole better food for new mothers in the days just after the delivery of their babies, has thrown up some startling “facts”.

A woman for instance was declared pregnant three times in four months to avail benefits under the scheme. Another wo0man who had not conceived in 12 years was paid Rs. 1400 under the scheme. Yet another woman in Bahraich, a 60-year-old, gots pregnant “five times in 10 months”.

Officials responsible for implementation of the scheme are now being probed and an inquiry is on to unravel the discrepancies. Authorities said they are looking at a “large pan-UP scam” in which PHC (primary health centre) employees would make fictitious transfers of Rs 1400 to gullible village women, give them a meagre cut and keep the rest for themselves. In the Baundi PHC alone, 200 such cases have been found. Five employees have been suspended and the district magistrate has ordered a probe.